Hello and welcome to another episode of Searching Standard, where each and every week I look for new, innovative decks for you to play in Standard. This week, I'm looking at a deck that was recently featured on the YouTube channel of LittleDarkFury. It features Hop's Zacian ex JTG 111, who is capable of spreading a lot of damage to your opponent's team of Pokemon. Let's get started by taking a look at the deck list.
Hop's Zacian ex
LittleDarkFury
Pokemon
1 Bloodmoon Ursaluna ex TWM 141
1 Fezandipiti ex SFA 38
2 Froslass TWM 53
2 Hop's Cramorant JTG 138
2 Hop's Snorlax JTG 117
2 Hop's Zacian ex JTG 111
2 Munkidori TWM 95
2 Snorunt PAR 37
Trainers
4 Arven OBF 186
2 Boss’s Orders PAL 172
1 Counter Catcher PAR 160
1 Earthen Vessel PAR 163
2 Hop's Bag JTG 147
4 Hop's Choice Band JTG 148
4 Iono PAL 185
2 Iris's Fighting Spirit JTG 149
4 Nest Ball SVI 181
2 Night Stretcher SFA 61
1 Penny SVI 183
4 Postwick JTG 154
1 Prime Catcher TEF 157
3 Professor's Research JTG 155
1 Rescue Board TEF 159
1 Switch SVI 194
1 Technical Machine: Devolution PAR 177
2 Ultra Ball SVI 196
Energy
5 Basic Darkness Energy
1 Jet Energy PAL 190
We'll start by taking a look at all of Hop's Pokemon in this deck. Hop's Zacian ex JTG 111 is the first attacker for this deck. By using its Insta-Strike attack, you'll deal 30 damage to your opponent's Active Pokemon and 30 damage to one of their Benched Pokemon. As you'll see, there are ways to deal additional damage with this attack. In the middle stages of the game, you can switch to using Hop's Cramorant JTG 138 as your attacker. For just a single Energy, Hop's Cramorant JTG 138's Fickle Spitting attack will deal 120 damage, but only if your opponent has exactly 3 or 4 Prize cards remaining. If they have more Prize cards or less Prize cards than this, the attack will do nothing. Finally, to finish things off, you might consider switching Pokemon to have Bloodmoon Ursaluna ex TWM 141 as your attacker. With its Blood Moon attack, you'll be able to deal a ton of damage, potentially for zero Energy.
Since this deck is able to spread damage to your opponent's Benched Pokemon, you can take advantage of Froslass TWM 53's Freezing Shroud Ability. This Ability will put 1 damage counter on each Pokemon in play that has an Ability. This includes your own Pokemon, so you can place damage onto your Munkidori TWM 95 with Froslass TWM 53's Freezing Shroud Ability and then move it to one of your opponent's Pokemon with Munkidori TWM 95's Adrena-Brain Ability.
As is commonly seen in Standard decks, there is a copy of Fezandipiti ex SFA 38 included in this deck for some extra card drawing. If you had a Pokemon get Knocked Out during your opponent's previous turn, you can activate Fezandipiti ex SFA 38's Flip the Script Ability to draw 3 extra cards. These extra cards can be just what you need to recover from the loss of a Pokemon.
While you have Hop's Snorlax JTG 117 in play, your attacks made by any of Hop's Pokemon will deal an extra 30 damage to your opponent's Active Pokemon thanks to Hop's Snorlax JTG 117’s Extra Helpings Ability. Hop's Choice Band JTG 148 also allows any Hop's Pokemon it is attached to to deal an extra 30 damage with attacks, plus it reduces the Energy needed to use the attacks of that Pokemon by 1 Colorless Energy. There's also a playset of Postwick JTG 154 that increases the damage done by the attacks from Hop's Pokemon by an additional 30 damage. That means Hop's Zacian ex JTG 111's Insta-Strike attack will require 0 Energy to use, and will deal 90 extra damage if you have these three cards in play.
Arven OBF 186 is one of the best ways in Standard to find the Pokemon Tools and Items you need. If you'd like, you could use Arven OBF 186 to search for Switch SVI 194, ensuring you'll have the means to move one of your Benched Pokemon to your Active Spot. Alternatively, you can play Penny SVI 183 to put one of your Basic Pokemon and all attached cards into your hand. This can be a great way to save a Pokemon right before it would get Knocked Out.
Boss’s Orders PAL 172, Counter Catcher PAR 160, and Prime Catcher TEF 157 all serve the same purpose: allowing you to choose which of your opponent's Pokemon you want to attack. These all make taking multiple Prize cards easier, giving you an advantage throughout the game.
While this deck might not require a lot of Energy, there will be times you might need to find some. Playing Earthen Vessel PAR 163 can help with this. Find the Darkness Energy your Munkidori TWM 95 needs to activate its Adrena-Brain Ability. Power up your attacks. Whatever you need the Energy for, Earthen Vessel PAR 163 can help you find it.
In order to draw extra cards (helping you find what you need more quickly), you'll need to rely on this batch of cards. Both Professor's Research JTG 155 and Iris's Fighting Spirit JTG 149 straight up draw you new cards, while Iono PAL 185 forces each player to reset their hand to the same number of cards as they have Prize cards remaining. This can disrupt your opponent's plans, especially if they've taken a lot of their Prizes.
Finding the Pokemon you need is always important. Hop's Bag JTG 147 lets you search your deck for any two of Hop's Pokemon to put onto your Bench. Nest Ball SVI 181 also allows you to search your deck for a Pokemon to put onto your Bench, but it must be a Basic Pokemon. Finally, Ultra Ball SVI 196 has no restrictions as to what Pokemon you can get from your deck when you play it. That Pokemon also goes into your hand instead of into play.
The final batch of Trainer cards are all-purpose in nature. Night Stretcher SFA 61 lets you put a Pokemon or Basic Energy card from your discard pile into your hand. Rescue Board TEF 159 offers a discount when paying a Pokemon's Retreat Cost. Technical Machine: Devolution PAR 177 is great to have against decks that are 'cheating' out Stage 2 Pokemon with Rare Candy, but it could be useless against decks that rely mostly on Basic Pokemon.
Wrapping Up
While I always found Hop to be a bit annoying in the video game, I can't deny that his Pokemon in this deck are pretty powerful. By reducing the amount of Energy required to use their attacks and increasing the amount of damage those attacks do, you can quickly outpace your opponent and close out the game before they do.
What do you think of this deck? Do you have any suggestions for improvements? Let me know by leaving a comment below. And be sure to join me here again next week as I continue my search for innovative decks in the Pokemon TCG. I'll see you then!
-Mike Likes
